Sky News Arabia's goal has been to become an alternative news source for Arab audiences, including the large number of people under 30, by offering an editorially independent channel with balanced news and analysis across media platforms. "The U.K. launch comes as part of Sky News Arabia’s continuing distribution expansion to reach Arab communities around the world," the network said.

Last year, it launched an advertising campaign in the Middle East using the slogan "New Horizons."

“The availability of Sky News Arabia on the Sky platform marks an important step in reaching one of the Arab world’s most important overseas communities," said Nart Bouran, head of Sky News Arabia. "When we launched nearly a year ago, our priority was to target our core markets in the Middle East and North Africa, which we have done successfully. We have taken a number of key steps to expand our distribution since then -- making our feed available on Hotbird for European audiences, for example -- and the U.K. is one more milestone as we continue to find new ways to reach Arabic speakers wherever they may be."

Said John Ryley, head of Sky News, about the U.K. launch: "It brings Arabic speaking viewers in the UK. a fresh independent perspective on Arabic news and builds on Sky News’ strong reputation for impartial and innovative coverage.”